Method for shooting a performance using an unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

A method for shooting a performance making use of umanned aerial vehicles, such as drones for example, to provide the physical markers that are needed to give a physical actor indications on the positioning of virtual elements to be inserted later in the scene, and with which s/he needs to interact.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An unmanned aerial vehicle for indicating a position of a virtual element to be inserted into a video performance, comprising a detectable marker defining a 3D coordinate system for detecting a position of said unmanned aerial vehicle by an optical motion capture system; propellers for driving said unmanned aerial vehicle along a trajectory representative of movement of the virtual element within the video performance; and a physical marker extending from said unmanned aerial vehicle and accessible without contacting said propellers, said physical marker including a stick and an object positioned on an extremity of said stick, said object indicating a position of an interaction intended to occur between an actor within the video performance and the virtual element moving along said trajectory. 
     
     
       2. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to  claim 1 , wherein a position and attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle with respect to the 3D coordinate system is controllable using a navigation control. 
     
     
       3. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to  claim 2  wherein the detectable marker is a non-coplanar retro-reflective marker and the navigation control estimates a 3D position of a center of mass (r(t)) of the unmanned aerial vehicle from measurements provided by the optical motion capture system through the non-coplanar retro-reflective marker. 
     
     
       4. A method for shooting a performance in which at least one actor interacts with a mobile virtual element, the method comprising controlling navigation of an unmanned aerial vehicle to move along a trajectory representative of movement of the virtual element within the performance wherein a physical marker including an object on an extremity thereof extends from the unmanned aerial vehicle and is positioned to be accessible without contacting propellers of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the object materializing a mobile position of an interaction intended to occur between the at least one actor and the virtual element along the controlled trajectory, the position of interaction identifying a point for insertion of the virtual element into the performance. 
     
     
       5. The method according to the  claim 4 , further comprising controlling navigation of several unmanned aerial vehicles, and maintaining a minimal separation distance between the several unmanned aerial vehicles. 
     
     
       6. An apparatus for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle indicating a position of a virtual element to be inserted into a video performance, said apparatus comprising
 a processor; and 
 a network interface, wherein said processor determines a 3D position and speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and controls the unmanned aerial vehicle via the network interface to move according to a trajectory representative of movement and speed of the virtual element within the video performance whereby a physical marker extending from the unmanned aerial vehicle and including an object, the object being accessible without contacting propellers of the unmanned aerial vehicle as the unmanned aerial vehicle follows the trajectory representative of movement and speed of the virtual element within the video performance, said physical marker and object enabling interactions intended to occur between an actor and the virtual element moving along the trajectory. 
 
     
     
       7. A film shooting studio comprising at least one unmanned aerial vehicle for indicating a position of a virtual element to be inserted into a video performance, the unmanned aerial vehicle including a detectable marker defining a 3D coordinate system for detecting a position of said unmanned aerial vehicle by an optical motion capture system; propellers for driving said unmanned aerial vehicle along a trajectory representative of movement of the virtual element within the video performance; and a physical marker extending from said unmanned aerial vehicle and accessible without contacting said propellers, said physical marker including a stick and an object positioned on an extremity of said stick, said object indicating a position of an interaction intended to occur between an actor within the video performance and a virtual element moving along said trajectory. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising a user interface for controlling a target position and speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle upon receipt of an input command.